Something will be missing from this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference, and it is not its famed straw poll or the kaleidoscope of color provided by the thousands of activists and conservative media darlings who attend.
Instead, most potential 2024 Republican presidential candidates are missing this year’s annual conference, headlined by former President Donald Trump, amid the GOP’s post-Trump administration reckoning and denied allegations against American Conservative Union president and CPAC organizer Matt Schlapp.
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CPAC absences underscore a divide within the Republican Party as the GOP contends with its identity post-Trump, trying to hold on to his hard-line base while attempting to make overtures to more moderate conservatives and independents.
“2012 marked the year [then-Republican presidential nominee Mitt] Romney bussed in students to tilt the straw poll,” one Republican strategist told the Washington Examiner of CPAC. “2015 featured every GOP candidate wooing young conservatives with receptions and beer. Now, 2023 is the beginning of the end of CPAC. Conservatives are looking for a new direction and fresh leadership, and Trump and Schlapp aren’t it.”
The Republican strategists with whom the Washington Examiner spoke downplayed any connection between the sexual misconduct allegations made against Schlapp and CPAC’s standing, the conference starting in Maryland on Wednesday. Schlapp has denied the allegations, which were leveled at him by a male aide to former NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner, and 2022 Georgia Republican Senate candidate Hershel Walker.
Alternatively, those strategists point to Schlapp’s continued ties to Trump, who is delivering the keynote address on Saturday evening, and how CPAC no longer appeals to all the voters Republicans need to win elections.
“I think Matt has done a pretty good job with CPAC,” another Republican strategist said. “I think its biggest problem has been its frequent change of venues because of COVID. Trump adds to drama, but you need some drama to make it exciting.”
The conference was held in Florida during the height of the pandemic. This is the first time it has returned to the nation’s capital since 2020.
“CPAC was a positive way to show unity among conservatives but has a different feel to it this year when candidates are projecting hostility to each other,” a separate GOP strategist added.
Former U.N. Ambassador and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, Trump’s only major declared opponent for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, is speaking at CPAC on Friday afternoon. Multimillionaire entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who has also announced his candidacy, is slated for Friday afternoon, while Trump-era Secretary of State and CIA Director Mike Pompeo, who is considering launching his own bid, is on the schedule for Thursday evening.
Meanwhile, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), in addition to former Vice President Mike Pence, Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), Gov. Chris Sununu (R-NH), as well as Haley and Ramaswamy, will be appearing at a closed-press retreat hosted by the Club for Growth in Florida from March 2-4. The anti-tax 501 conservative organization extended an invitation to Pompeo and Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R-VA), but they declined because of conflicts. The event is an opportunity for the prospective 2024 Republican presidential candidates to meet with donors, with the Club for Growth, which has distanced itself from Trump and Trumpism, donating $20.5 million during last year’s midterm cycle, according to OpenSecrets. DeSantis, too, will be at fundraisers in California and Texas as he travels the country for his book tour.
Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) are not expected to be present either.
“The fact that DeSantis and Pence are skipping out on CPAC is a sign that CPAC isn’t the ‘must do’ event for GOP presidential wannabes that it used to be,” a fourth Republican strategist said. “Schlapp has done a fine job running CPAC, but appearing at CPAC has sort of become the ‘establishment’ thing to do for conservative Republicans.”
Noting last year’s CPAC was well attended by possible 2024 Republican presidential candidates, one senior Democratic official disagreed, asserting CPAC, “from our perspective,” “is a perfect window into where the Republican Party is.”
“You’ve got them inviting Mike Lindell. They invited [Hungarian Prime Minister] Viktor Orban last year and then [former Brazilian President Jair] Bolsonaro this year, so CPAC is a perfect encapsulation of what the MAGA base is,” he said. “Whether it’s at CPAC or elsewhere, Republicans are still catering to that CPAC audience.”
CPAC has defended itself and Schlapp from criticism, particularly from the Washington Post, which this week published a piece scrutinizing Schlapp’s leadership and management style.
“Matt Schlapp was chosen to lead CPAC eight years ago because he had a clear vision focused on transforming CPAC from a small, annual conference into a respected conservative grassroots and policy powerhouse with expanding international reach,” CPAC’s second vice chairman, Carolyn Meadows, said. “This week, we will be with thousands of real Americans who care about the future of our country, people who are too busy with their real lives to care about hit pieces put out by the radical Left’s mouthpiece, the Washington Post.”
“CPAC attendees look forward to hearing from every announced GOP presidential candidate and over 100 premiere speakers, including more than 30 elected officials,” Meadows’s colleague Megan Powers Small, a CPAC spokeswoman, added to the Washington Examiner. “It’s a missed opportunity for any potential presidential candidate to not address the thousands of grassroots activists at CPAC this year.”
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Trump dominates early polling of the 2024 Republican presidential field, averaging 45% support among GOP respondents, according to RealClearPolitics. DeSantis averages 29%, Pence 7%, Haley 5%, Pompeo 2%, and Scott 1%.
